EU urges CDO to set aside disaster budget

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The European Union on Wednesday urged the mayor of Cagayan de Oro to set aside five percent of the local government’s annual budget for disaster reduction and emergency response.

During a call on Mayor Vicente Emano, EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux and Belgian embassy First Secretary Jozef Naudts said the step may have to be considered with the devastation that the city suffered after the onslaught of tropical storm “Sendong” last December.

Emano meanwhile told the EU diplomats that the action by the city government is determined after damage has been validated.

“We feel that the people need to be relocated to a high and safer area,” said Ledoux as he emphasized the importance of investing in disaster risk reduction.

Emano said the city has a population of 800,000.

“Disaster is a long-term start and you can’t handle that overnight so more needs to be done in this area. And I think all the municipalities and barangays should have the means to do that because as I mentioned to the mayor and he confirmed that a law has been approved that each municipality sets aside five percent of the annual budget for disaster preparedness,” Ledoux said.

“It is important to make sure this law is implemented by all the municipalities and invest more in disaster preparedness,” he added.

Beyond relief assistance, Ledoux stressed the continuing need to strengthen disaster preparedness mechanisms in the area. Although the EU has invested significantly in disaster preparedness in the Philippines in the last few years, he said more needs to be done in this aspect.

In 2011, the EU provided P442 million for emergency assistance for the many disasters that hit the country last year.

The union has also donated P389 million for Sendong victims.

Meanwhile, the government of Canada is giving P57.3 million in humanitarian assistance including P4.3 million from the province of Manitoba for the victims of Sendong in Mindanao, the Canadian embassy in Manila said yesterday.

“Today, Canada is responding to calls for needed supplies and further assistance to help those affected restore their strength and livelihoods,” Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, said in a press statement released by the embassy.

The provincial government of Bulacan also sent a total of P400,000 to the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Mindanao as an assistance to flood victims.

The Pag-IBIG Fund (Home Development Mutual Fund) has also released P136 million in calamity loans to 6,500 victims of Sendong.

Pag-IBIG president and chief executive officer Darlene Marie Berberabe said aside from the calamity loans, 261 Pag-IBIG members who were affected by Sendong have also filed for insurance claims for their homes as of Dec. 20 last year.

The Department of Labor and Employment also released an additional P7 million for an emergency employment program in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to help those affected by Sendong.

Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon, on the other hand, said yesterday they already have 21 containers filled with assorted imported used clothing waiting to be donated to the victims of Sendong in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro. - Dino Balabo, Mayen Jaymalin, Jose Rodel Clapano, Rudy Santos, Evelyn Macairan, Sheila Crisostomo, Marvin Sy